‘Cold-blooded’ killer showed no remorse
charge, the judge said.
Warren pulled the trigger twice but the gun failed to fire. Williams told him there were children in the house but he pulled the trigger again and shot her in the throat. She died instantly. One of Williams’ sons fled to a neighbour’s house when he saw Warren point the gun at his mother.
Another hid in a wardrobe before finding his mother dead in their driveway.
Warren was arrested near Hokitika after a day-long manhunt.
He told police he shot Williams because she claimed he had indecently assaulted her. ‘‘You know, at 45, put me away for 31⁄ years for f...... something I didn’t do. Oh well f... I rather go away for 10 for something I did,’’ he said.
Williams’ three sons were now in the care of their grandmother, Christine Mehrtens, who had a support person read out her victim impact statement.
‘‘I constantly think of the fear Hayley must have felt when the gun was pointed at her.
‘‘I found out about the death of my daughter from one of my grandsons calling me telling me she was shot at his home while he was there. I miss her so much.’’
She said her grandsons still had nightmares. ‘‘Hayley was so proud of her boys. She was a great mum.’’
Mehrtens told Warren she never wanted to see his face or hear his voice. ‘‘What sort of person does this to a mum, or anyone, in her home where her sons were supposed to be safe,’’ she said.
Crown prosecutor Claire Boshier said it was a ‘‘cold-blooded execution’’.
Williams was shot at point-blank range while children were inside. ‘‘She was begging for her life. ‘‘She told him she would drop the complaint and children were there.
‘‘[Warren] shot her leaving her body for her children to find,’’ Boshier said.
Warren had no remorse and no empathy for what he had done.
She did not offer any evidence for the indecent assault charge and it was dismissed.
Justice Nation said the murder could only be described as ‘‘inhuman’’.
West Coast area investigations manager Detective Senior Sergeant Jacqui Corner said Warren’s sentence ‘‘reflects the gravity’’ of his offending.
‘‘The small West Coast community was left shattered and baffled by this crime,’’ she said in a statement issued after the hearing.
‘‘I would like to thank the investigations team who worked tirelessly on this case, but there is still a lot of work to be done with two people still before the court in relation to this matter.’’
The other two men, whose names are suppressed, have been charged with concealing evidence of the murder.